Preparation of co, ni, and zn-based catalyst supported on mesoporous carbon for hydrocracking of pyrolyzed α-cellulose

Abstract

The Co, Ni, and Zn metal catalysts impregnated on mesoporous carbon from Merbau wood sawdust have been prepared and aimed to improve the hydrocracking activity of cellulose bio-oil into a functional liquid product. Carbon-based sawdust as catalyst support was carbonized at various temperatures which subsequently denoted as C500, C600, C700, and C800. The generated materials were characterized by GSA, FTIR, SEM, AAS, and acidity test. Meanwhile, the pyrolysis and hydrocracking results were investigated using GC-MS. The GSA analysis reveals that C800 had the largest specific surface area (164.60 m2 g-1 ) with an average pore diameter of 3.80 nm and pore volume of 0.15 cm3 g-1 which makes it preferable as catalyst support. Among all the catalysts, Zn/C800 had the highest metal content of 0.88 wt.% as well as the highest acidity of 9.68 mmol g-1 . The three dominant compounds produced from hydrocracking of pyrolyzed α-cellulose were C3H6O2, C2H4O2, and C 5H 4O 2.